Digital Law

learning objectives

Understand the the consequences for illegal online and digital activity.

Understand how individuals can be held accountable for misuse of digital tools.

digital law overview

It has been said that ignorance of the law is no excuse, and the same holds true for digital law. Digital law is a rather new concept that involves a wide array of activities that take place online and via digital tools and media. While being founded on the same principles as "regular law", digital law is constantly being tested as technologies change and improve. Because of these changes, it is common for individuals to claim (legitimately or not) that they were unaware that they were doing anything illegal, especially in the area of copyright. Ribble (2015), states that issues like these were brought to the forefront by the Recording Industry Association of America fining students and others for downloading music illegally (as cited in Bainwol & Sherman, 2007). In educational settings, fair use and what is okay and not okay is sometimes confusing. To learn more about copyright and education, click this here.

Digital law has also made headlines in cases of sexting. According to Ribble (2015), If a participant is under the age of 16, this can be considered child pornography, even if the sender is a willing participant, or has sent a self-portrait. The trouble doesn't just stop with the sender. The receiver of such material can also be criminally charged with possession of it, even if they did not want it or request it. Conviction for these crimes can require an individual to register as a sex offender (or worse), jail time, and permanent damage to one's reputation.

Identity theft, unleashing of computer viruses, and other violations of appropriate digital citizenship can lead to digital law issues. For these reasons and one's yet to come, it is important that schools and universities educate students and faculty on the legal ramifications of violating laws pertaining to digital content and behavior. ​

Connections to personal experience

Years ago (seriously) I was interested in finding ways to enable features I thought should have been available on my iPhone. Thinking, "I wonder if I can use my phone to do ..." was something I explored regularly. Back then (and maybe still now, I'm out of this loop) it was popular to "jailbreak" your phone in order to unlock certain features, or run unapproved software. Generally speaking, these features and software were not harmful. and only enhanced the experience of using the phone. Apple has always held their usual position that altering or "jailbreaking" the device's operating system is a bad idea, and one which voids your warranty. It was also believed to be illegal until July 2010, when the Library of Congress ruled that under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), jailbreaking was legal. The process is still frowned upon, and risky if the process fails, but it is no longer considered a violation of digital law.

Connections To Field/discipline

Anyone who has acquired music, movies or copyrighted material from in unapproved manner has had experience with digital law. Most have just never been caught. My first experience came when I was teaching middle school science. There was a documentary on HBO Sports about the dangers of chewing tobacco and the prevalence of use among athletes. It was a powerful program that I thought would make an impact on adolescent students, so I recorded it (with a VHS tape, remember those?) When I shared it with our Media Specialist, she told me I couldn't show it to students. Initially I thought it was because of the content, however she informed me that we would have to get permission from HBO to show it to students. Up until that time, I had no understanding of copyright, or the issues with recording and showing material to students. Since then, I am much more careful about how I acquire media and how or who I share it with.

Npr broadcasts

What if you purchased something, but were forbidden from repairing it if it broke? Surprisingly, this is becoming more common as machinery becomes more and more computerized. This change is no more evident than the case of Mr. Dave Alford, farmer and someone in need of tractor repair. When he attempted to repair his John Deere tractor, he ran into issues with the proprietary computer software that prohibited him from working on his own vehicle. Could this be more prevalent in the future as common devices become computerized and wirelessly controlled? Let's listen....